Atsuki Naoe

The da Vinci SP, a robotic surgical platform capable of single-port surgery, offers cosmetic advantages; however, its use in pediatric patients has been limited. This report presents the first da Vinci SP operation for a choledochal cyst in a 7-year-old girl with Type Ic disease. The procedure was completed in 300 min, including 192 min of console time, with no intraoperative complications. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 7. The SP robot enables precise surgical interventions within small anatomical spaces without the need for extensive planning of port placement to avoid forceps interference. Additionally, its ability to adjust the position of the remote center expands the potential for a wide range of pediatric operations, particularly for surgeries in close proximity to target organs.

AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to establish an objective, simple, and minimally invasive screening method to detect patients with biliary atresia during neonatal checkups by using indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence in the stool. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We produced a rat model of extrahepatic biliary obstruction (group O, n = 9) and compared the stools from these rats with those of control group rats (group C, n = 6) by a fluorescence technique. ICG was administered (0.5 mg/kg) through the caudal vein; group O received ICG at the end of surgery. RESULTS: In group C, we collected stools at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours, and fluorescence disappeared at 48 hours. In group O, stools were collected at 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours after surgery, and fluorescence continued at 120 hours without the loss of fluorescence. Quantitative assessment of lightness showed significant differences between the groups at 48 and 72 hours (p = 0.0016 and p = 0.0004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that ICG is excreted into the gastrointestinal tract via a route other than the bile duct in a rat model of extrahepatic biliary obstruction. Our findings also suggest that ICG has the potential for initial screening of biliary congestive disease in the neonatal period, which could be followed up by detailed testing.

Abstract Background Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. Although various new drugs have been developed in recent years, many of them are expensive, generating a demand for inexpensive and useful therapeutic drugs. Ogikenchuto (TJ‐98), an existing Kampo medicine, has been used to treat ulcers and similar conditions for some time. The current study therefore investigated whether TJ‐98 could be a new therapeutic agent for UC, a chronic inflammatory disease. Methods This study used 6‐week‐old female C57BL/6J mice to establish a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis. We then evaluated the therapeutic effects of tacrolimus and TJ‐98 on colitis based on body weight, intestinal length, intestinal fibrosis, and cytokines. Sirius red staining was used to evaluate intestinal fibrosis, while interleukin‐1 beta (IL‐1β), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) were used to evaluate cytokines involved in inflammation. Results Neither tacrolimus nor TJ‐98 ameliorated weight loss. Although tacrolimus did not remediate intestinal shortening, intestinal fibrosis, or cytokine levels (IL‐1β, IL‐6, and TNF‐α), TJ‐98 did ameliorate intestinal shortening and intestinal fibrosis and decrease IL‐1β levels. Conclusions This study confirmed that TJ‐98 suppressed the inflammation caused by DSS‐induced enteritis and decreased the associated intestinal fibrosis, highlighting its potential as an inexpensive novel therapeutic agent for UC.

An 11-year-old girl presented with recurrent right lower quadrant (RLQ) pain. There was no evidence of inflammation and appendiceal swelling except at the initial onset. The repeated presence of a small amount of ascites at the time of abdominal pain triggered the performance of exploratory laparoscopy. Intraoperative examination revealed a non-inflamed, unswollen appendix with a cord-like atretic segment at the middle part and an appendectomy was performed. At 46 months follow-up, she remained asymptomatic. In patients with recurrent RLQ pain of unknown cause, it is necessary to consider diagnostic laparoscopy while keeping appendiceal atresia in mind as a differential diagnosis.

PURPOSE: We previously reported that polyphyllin D, a main component of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Paris polyphylla, exhibited anticancer effects in vitro against human neuroblastoma cells. The aims of this investigation was to examine the presence or absence of in vivo anti-metastasis effects of polyphyllin D were to establish a liver metastasis model of neuroblastoma and to evaluate the anti-metastasis effects of polyphyllin D. METHODS: Subcutaneous and intraperitoneal tumors, and metastasis models were established in immune-deficient BALB/c nude and BALB/c Rag-2/Jak3 double-deficient (BRJ) mice using the human neuroblastoma cell lines IMR-32, LA-N-2, or NB-69. For evaluating polyphyllin D activity, we used a mouse model of liver metastasis with the IMR-32 cells line injected through the tail vein. We analyzed the livers number and area of liver tumors in of the phosphate buffer solution- and polyphyllin D-treated groups. RESULTS: Liver metastasis and intraperitoneal dissemination models were successfully established in immune-deficient BRJ mice using the three human neuroblastoma cell lines. In the liver metastasis, the model of IMR-32 cells, we found that polyphyllin D suppressed both the number and total area of metastatic foci the average number of metastatic foci, average focus areas, and number of cleaved caspase-3-positive cells were significantly lower in the polyphyllin D group (p = 0.016, 0.020, 0.043, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: We developed a mouse models of neuroblastoma metastasis and demonstrated for the first time that polyphyllin D has an antitumor effect on neuroblastoma liver metastases.

Objectives: Proximal stoma creation in neonates results in growth failure and distal intestinal atrophy. "Recycling stool" consists of stool injection from the proximal limb to the distal limb of a stoma. Because this method may prevent distal bowel atrophy and increase body weight, we investigated the effects of recycling stool upon distal intestinal mucosa by generating an ileostomy model in rats. Methods: An ileostomy was created 5 cm proximal to the cecum in male Wistar/ST rats. Discharged stool or saline was injected into the distal limb, twice per day for 7 days. The intestinal adaptation was assessed by measuring the villus height and counting goblet cell number. Proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed by Ki67 and TUNEL immunostaining. Results: The ratios of the height of the distal villi (D) to the that of proximal villi (P) were 0.97 (median [range] of D and P length: 421 [240-729] μm and 436 [294-638] μm, P<0.05) in the stool-injected group and 0.81 in the saline-injected group (442 [315-641] μm and 548 [236-776] μm, P<0.05). Compared with the saline-injected group, the stool-injected group showed elevated numbers of goblet cells (3.6 [2.0-7.6] vs. 4.9 [2.4-7.5] cells/100-μm villus length) and Ki67-positive cells (26.8% [13.8%-35.4%] vs. 40.1% [31.2%-45.7%]), along with a reduced number of apoptotic cells (5.0 [2.0-14.0] vs. 4.0 [1.0-9.0] cells/100-μm villus length). Conclusions: Recycling stool prevented distal intestinal atrophy; this experimental design may facilitate further studies concerning alternative methods to prevent intestinal atrophy and growth failure.

PURPOSE: Arctigenin has been shown to have anti-tumor effects in various types of cancers. This study was conducted to verify these effects in the human-derived hepatoblastoma cell line, HUH-6 clone 5 (hereinafter, HUH-6). METHODS: Arctigenin was added to cultured HUH-6 cells, and cellular activity was evaluated by MTS assay. To determine the relationship between reduced cellular activity and apoptosis, we measured the activities of caspase 3/7, 8, and 9 and conducted flow cytometry with Annexin V/PI staining. RESULTS: The MTS assay revealed that cellular activity decreased after arctigenin treatment in a concentration-dependent manner (IC50 = 4 µM). To investigate apoptosis induction, activity assays of caspase 3/7, 8, and 9 were performed. While caspase 3/7 and 8 exhibited high activity, caspase 9 showed no activity. Thus, apoptosis induction may have involved the action of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1). Flow cytometry conducted with Annexin V/PI staining revealed the occurrence of early apoptosis. CONCLUSION: We found that arctigenin has anti-tumor effects in HUH-6 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Arctigenin may have exerted its anti-tumor effect by inducing apoptosis via TNFR1, which recruits Complex IIa to activate caspase 8 and 3/7. These results may be useful for developing therapeutic agents for hepatoblastoma.